July 13 2012

6:52 PM

Hopefully, Troy Matteson isn't triskaidekaphobic. This is, after
all, a man who finished 36 holes at the John Deere Classic in 13
under -- on Friday the 13th, no less.

The 68 Matteson shot in the second round of the John Deere
Classic allowed him to remain on top of the leaderboard when he
finished although his three-shot lead had dwindled to one. The
veteran was pleased to have made another positive move after
opening with a sterling 61.

"It's just always tough when you shoot a low one to come to the
golf course the next day," Matteson said. "I got here early. You
get a little out of sync because you're anxious to get out there
and play and see what you do. But, you know, all in all I felt
pretty good with what we did today. Because we did hit the loose
shots that we hit, we got away with most of 'em."

Matteson isn't sure that he'll be leading at the end of the day,
though. TPC Deere Run is being extremely generous and he wouldn't
be surprised to see someone post a number like he did on
Thursday.

"I'll be shocked if it's still in the lead by the end of the
day," Matteson said. "I think a guy at 7 could easily shoot 8 or
9. Easily. Or at 6. I know there are some guys going
pretty low out there right now.

"It's out there every day. I mean, somebody could shoot a 59
today if they get it going. ... There are opportunities out there
today. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody got to 15."